Blog Posts by Marie Claire

You know how you always fall for those brooding, hygienically challenged intellectuals? Learn the reason in Why Him? Why Her? Finding Real Love by Understanding Your Personality Type by Helen Fisher. After studying 40,000 men and women, the biological anthropologist and relationship guru came up with four types, and figured out the best combos.

Lester Cohen/Wire ImageEXPLORER PERSONALITY: A sensation-seeking creative type who would rather let dishes pile up in the sink than miss a chance to go bungee jumping.
BIOLOGY: Explorers have high levels of dopamine, a chemical in the brain associated with feelings of euphoria and optimism. Explorers love sex. Love.
IDEAL MATE: A fellow Explorer. In short, a partner who won't flinch if you ask him to play hooky and go to Bangkok on a whim.
OUR FAVORITE COUPLE: Duh. Brad and Angelina, the jet-setting, tattooed, unwed parents of six.

DIRECTOR PERSONALITY: A cool, calculating, independent workaholic who hates talking about feelings because what's the point?
BIOLOGY: In

Gender Selection Come Stateside
Feticide - terminating a pregnancy based on the baby's gender - is illegal in India, yet the U.N. estimates that 2000 female fetuses are aborted there every day. Barbaric, horrific - and a problem that's 7000 miles away, right? Wrong. Jesus Ayala/Studio DNow available in the U.S. is the Pink or Blue Early Gender Test ($240), an at-home kit that purports to determine a fetus's sex from a pinprick's worth of the mother's blood as early as seven weeks after conception. Convenient, particularly for couples who "always wanted a girl" or in ethnic communities that value sons over daughters, as the test gives would-be parents ample time to abort if the gender they wind up with is not to their liking.

"Unless there's a real medical concern, like a high risk of a sex-linked disease, there's no good reason to perform such early sex tests," says Dr. Arthur Caplan, chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and the director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of

Celebrity hair stylist and co-founder of David Babaii for WildAid, hairstylist DAVID BABAII, shares how you can capture Angelina's effortlessly elegant hairstyle.

Kevin Mazur/Wire ImageFirst, blow dry wet tresses to create a shiny, frizz free foundation

Next, randomly curl your entire mane to form tousled waves

To ensure volume at the root area, spray David Babaii for WildAid Volcanic Ash Root Amplifier

Slightly back comb sections of hair and smooth out with a brush to achieve desired height

Create a low bun at the nape of the neck by gathering sections of curls and securing with black bobby pins

Finish with David Babaii for WildAid Mise En Plis Extra Hold Styling Spray for a dazzling red carpet style.

For 150 more chic and easy red carpet hairstyles check out our HAIRSTYLE HANDBOOK

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Not every Française looks like Catherine Deneuve. Allied Artists/Fotos International/Getty ImagesWe have a bone to pick with Mireille Guiliano, author of 2004's French Women Don't Get Fat. Ever since her cheery commodification of femme-hood perched itself - in a Chanel skirt, legs crossed - at number one on the New York Times best-seller list, our local Barnes & Noble has offered a parade of galling Gallic self-improvement tomes, including Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl, French Women Don't Sleep Alone, and eight more editions of Guiliano's book - whose film rights have been snatched up by Hilary Swank.

Each volume variously targets American women's tormented battle with food, hatred of men, clumsiness with a scarf, prudishness in bed, thick waists, feast-or-famine attitude toward booze, inability to cultivate mystery, and preference for pants of the non-cigarette variety. As a result, countless numbers of our peers have come to accept as a foregone conclusion their own inferiority, senselessly buying into this masochistic Francophilia. Look, we love

Ever drive through a neighborhood full of four-car garages and waterfront views and wonder, Who are these people and how did they get here? Author Ryan D'Agostino knocked on the doors of 500 residents of America's wealthiest enclaves and asked them exactly that. Just in time for the recession, he shares what he learned in his new book, Rich Like Them. The takeaway:

MC: An almost scary level of focus and intensity was a common thread among the people you spoke with. What's an example?
RD: One guy was a broker in the '60s when the market was pretty bad. He decided to sell municipal bonds when no one else was doing it and spent all day cold-calling for hardly any commission - he'd make $35 an hour doing $5 million trades. His coworkers thought he was nuts, but when the market turned, a client called and wanted to buy big. Others followed. Once the broker had a client with a private plane, the guys at work changed their question from "What are you doing?" to "How did you do that?"

MC: A

California Walnut BoardPopcorn Walnut Delight
This American favorite is easy to make at home using walnuts and a light caramel. This version contains half the sugar per serving than the stadium-bought alternative and the walnuts provide nearly 10 times the amount of ALA omega-3s than of any other nut. Be sure you make enough because this deliciously smart and fun treat will go quickly when served to hungry football fanatics.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar or cider vinegar
Pinch baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
4 cups popped corn
3/4 cup walnut haves or pieces or a mixture

Preheat an oven to 250 degrees F.

Combine the butter, oil, sugar, vinegar, and baking soda in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring just until the butter has melted, approximately 3 minutes. If it starts to bubble, remove from heat to complete stirring.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Put the popped corn and the walnuts on

Stefan Klein/iStockThrowing a football is easy. Throwing a football correctly, with spiral, is not.

To begin, hold the ball in your dominant hand - your middle, ring, and pinkie fingers should be on the laces, while your pointer and thumb should be gripping the point of the ball.

Stand with your feet and body perpendicular to your target. Fixate your eyes on where you want the ball to go, and bring and keep your elbow at shoulder height while you launch the football toward your target.

Your follow-through should leave your throwing hand touching your opposite hip. When you throw the ball, turn your hips and shoulders toward your target - this is where the power comes from. If you don't put your whole body into the throw, it will likely come up short of your target. As you turn your body, shift your weight from your back foot to the front.

To add spiral - and seriously, it's the coolest part of throwing a football - make sure your fingertips are the last thing to release the ball. Snap your wrist upon

Johner Images/Getty ImagesThe Recession Index: With the economy melting down and taking our credit cards with it, making the rent could mean thinking outside the box. What are you willing to sell?

Here, the going rate for all of your corporeal assets (not that we're recommending liquidation).

• BRAIN $10 an hour for university psychological studies
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• HAIR $1000 for 10 inches in good condition (check out thehairtrader.com for more information)
  
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• INNER ARM $240 a month for twice-a-week platelet donations (according to International Bioresources' Plasma Center)
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• EGGS $7000 to $10,000 per donation
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• HIP BONE $450 for bone marrow (note: it is withdrawn using a 5-inch needle)
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• BODY $600 to $10,000 for pharmaceutical trials (depending on duration, risk, and invasiveness)
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• KIDNEY $35,000 to $100,000

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